Chapter-1

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

In todays world of globalization many apparel manufacturers are building strong supply chains to gain advantage over their competitors by offering the best value to their customers. The supply chain management has become very critical to manage risk, dynamism, and complexities of global sourcing. A totally integrated supply chain is required for the company to get gain the maximum benefits. The objectives of the supply chain and the performance measurements need to be understood in order to build the most effective supply chain. Performance measurements provide an approach to identify the success and potential of supply management strategies. One major aspect of the supply chain management is to select the right sources of supply in the global business environment that can support corporate strategy. Contrary to the conventional adversarial relationships, effective supply chain management in the new competition suggests seeking close relationships in the long term with less number of partners. Considering the rapidly changing market conditions and customer seeking the best value, longterm relationships with the supply chain partners became very critical in the apparel industry. Therefore the apparel manufacturers are looking for the supply chain partners who can provide the best cost in the fastest way. Such a relationship is regarded as partnership since it includes activities such as information sharing, joint product design, or sharing storage spaces. The purpose of this study is to learn about supply chain effectiveness in an apparel manufacturing company.

1.2 Origin of the Report

As a compulsory part of Internship program, this particular report is being prepared by the author on the proposed topic Supply Chain Effectiveness of an Apparel Manufacturing Company in Bangladesh A Study on Saba Attires Ltd. The intention was to give an opportunity to the students to gain some real world experience by working in a practical environment. The internship supervisor was Sabrina Sultana, Lecturer in Marketing, Faculty of Business. 2

1.3 Objective of the Report The Broad Objective of this report is: To measure the effectiveness of supply chain of Saba Attires Ltd in different supply chain area. Specific objectives are: 1. To identify the factors related to supply chain effectiveness 2. To know about role of merchandiser in an apparel manufacturing company 3. To provide some recommendations on the basis of findings.

1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Population, Sampling and Sampling Unit Population size is 135. Among 135 employees and suppliers, 40 persons are randomly chosen for interview. Sampling unit consists of 2 senior merchandisers, 10 Assistant merchandisers, 13 trainee merchandisers, 3 production executives, 2 commercial executives, 6 quality controllers and 4 suppliers. 1.4.2 Sample design This descriptive study covers the sample of 40 respondents. The pool of respondents consists of Senior Merchandisers, Assistant Merchandisers, Trainee Merchandisers, Quality Controllers, Commercial Officers and Suppliers of SABA Attires Ltd. Nonprobability convenience sampling technique is used to select the sample. Personal interviewing method is used to get response from respondents. To record the responses of sample respondents, a structured questioner is used. 1.4.3 Data gathering In order to prepare the report both primary and secondary data are needed. Primary data is collected by the questionnaires. Here direct communication is essential for gathering required data. Secondary data is collected from the internet, books and journal.

1.4.4 Data analysis Likerts Summative Rating method of analysis was used in the analysis these research questions. The Assigned weight to the various alternatives is Strongly Agree =5, Agree =4, Neutral =3, Disagree =2, strongly Disagree =1 Mean rating was used for the variables .To get the at the mean of each table this formula was used

Mean =

Where f =frequency of respondent x=weight assigned to each alternatives Formula for calculation as used in the study is by multiplication of number of respondents under each option with the weight assigned to the option and summing up to divide by the total number of respondents in order to give the mean rating.

The decision rule is that the mean ( X ) of the total response falls 4.5 to 5, it means Highly Effective, 3.5 to below 4.5 means Moderately Effective, 2.5 to below 3.5 means Marginally Effective, 2 to below 2.5 means Ineffective, 1 to below 2 point means Highly Ineffective

1.5 Limitations of the Report The major limitation for this report were 1. Respondents might not give the accurate information. 2. Unfortunately due to the companys limitations (business secrecy and confidentiality), it was not possible to acquire sufficient information. 3. Lack of experience of researcher. 4. Time was also a limitation. Gathering information during working was a tough job. 4

Chapter-2

Literature Review

2.1 Supply Chain 'A supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products, and deliver the products to customers through a distribution system' (Lee & Billington, 1995). The basic objective of supply chain is to optimize performance of the chain to add as much value as possible for the least cost possible. In other words, it aims to link all the supply chain agents to jointly cooperate within the firm as a way to maximize productivity in the supply chain and deliver the most benefits to all related parties (Finch 2006).

2.2 Supply Chain Effectiveness Supply chain effectiveness is defined as an external standard of how well an organization is meeting the demands of the various groups and organizations that are concerned with its activities through its supply chain (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978) which approximately is a construct for doing the right things or having validity of outcome (Hines et al. 2000). A conceptualization of effectiveness as use value is interesting to highlight that how well as well as demands in the above definition is vague. Hkansson and Prenkert (2004) seem to refer use value to evaluation of the networks utilization of resources. In resource dependence perspective is effectiveness seen as an independent measure for evaluating organizations. Meeting demands of various evaluators means that conflicting as well as compatible demands are prevalent. Pfeffer and Salancik (2003) foresee conflict when one stakeholders demand constraints other stakeholders demand, which is the case for the supply chain actors. Conflict but also co-operation gives lessons learnt in one exchange process that is leveraged in other exchange processes. Suppliers are effective if they deliver what is asked for, no matter if they are bound to fill their warehouses to manage, i.e. if they manage the task inefficiently. In supply chain management effectiveness is equalized with supply chains flexibility and agility to customer demand. Ineffective supply chains are loosely integrated with poor management of existing interdependencies. Even though different researchers give different categories of the processes involved in a supply chain, these processes are somewhat functionally independent and quite similar in that sense. 7

Strader et al. (1999) referred to the underlying business processes as mechanisms and included these processes in a complete supply chain which directly and indirectly impact on effectiveness of supply chain: (1) Forecasting demand based on information such as market research, (2) Placing and receiving customer orders, (3) Managing inventory, (4) Planning production, (5) Communicating between supply chain partners and (6) Managing distribution (shipping), Forecasting is the basis for all strategic and planning decisions in a supply chain (Chopra and Meindl, 2003) i.e.: production: scheduling, inventory, aggregate planning, and marketing: sales force allocation, promotions, new production introduction, and finance: plant/equipment investment, budgetary planning. Customer order entry method determines the way and extent to which customer specications are converted into information exchanged along the supply chain. The customer order path is the path that an order traverses is another important measure whereby the time spent in different channels can be determined. By analyzing the customer order path, non-value adding activities can be identied so that suitable steps can be taken to eliminate them. Inventory encompasses all the raw materials, work in process, and finished goods within a supply chain. Changing inventory policies can dramatically alter the supply chains efficiency & effectiveness (Chopra and Meindl, 2003). If effectiveness is a strategic competitive priority, a firm can locate larger amounts of inventory closer to customers (Chopra and Meindl, 2003). There are three basic decisions to make regarding the creation and holding of inventory: Cycle Inventory is the amount of inventory needed to satisfy demand for the product in the period between purchases of the product. Safety Inventory is held as a buffer against uncertainty. If demand forecasting could be done with perfect accuracy, then the only inventory that would be needed would be cycle inventory. Seasonal Inventory is inventory that is built up in anticipation of predictable increases in demand that occur at certain times of the year (Chopra and Meindl, 2003). After the order is planned and goods sourced the next step in to make/assemble products. This is the activity carried out by organizations that own production sites, and their performance has 8

a major impact on product cost, quality, speed of delivery and delivery reliability, and exibility (Mapes et al., 1997; Slack et al., 1995). As it is quite an important part of the supply chain, production needs to be measured and continuously improved. Suitable metrics for the production level are as follows. Order lead-time, the total order cycle time, called order to delivery cycle time, refers to the time elapsed in between the receipt of customer order until the delivery of nished goods to the customer. The reduction in order cycle time leads to reduction in supply chain response time, and as such is an important performance measure and source of competitive advantage (Christopher, 1992)it directly interacts with customer service in determining competitiveness. Range of product and services: According to Mapes et al. (1997), a plant that manufactures a broad product range is likely to introduce new products more slowly than plants with a narrow product range. Plants that can manufacture a wide range of products are likely to perform less well in the areas of value added per employee, speed and delivery reliability. This clearly suggests that product range affects supply chain performance. Effectiveness of scheduling techniques is another important measure of supply chain effectiveness. Scheduling refers to the time or date on or by which activities are to be undertaken. Such xing determines the manner in which resources will ow in an operating system, the effectiveness of which has an important impact on production and thus supply chain performance. For example, scheduling techniques such as JIT, MRP and ERP have implications on purchasing, throughput time and batch size. In case of the supply chain, since scheduling depends heavily on customer demands and supplier performance, the scheduling tools should be viewed in that context (Little et al., 1995). Communication with the supply link is another important measure of supply chain effectiveness. Traditionally supplier performance measures were based on price variation rejects on receipt and on time delivery. For many years, the selection of suppliers and product choice were mainly based on price competition with less attention afforded to other criteria like quality, reliability, etc. More recently, the whole approach to evaluating suppliers has undergone drastic change. Managing distribution (shipping) directly impacts on effectiveness on supply chain. Measures for delivery performance evaluation According to Stewart (1995), an increase in delivery performance is possible through a reduction in lead-time attributes. Another important aspect of delivery performance is on-time delivery. On-time delivery reects whether perfect delivery has taken place or otherwise and is also a measure of customer service level. A similar concept, 9

on time order ll, was used by Christopher (1992), describing it as a combination of delivery reliability and order completeness. Another aspect of delivery is the percentage of nished goods in transit, which if high signies low inventory turns, leading to unnecessary increases in tied up capital. Various factors that can inuence deli-very speed include vehicle speed, driver reliability, frequency of delivery, and location of depots. An increase in efficiency in these areas can lead to a decrease in the inventory levels (Novich, 1990). Number of faultless notes invoiced: An invoice shows the delivery date, time and condition under which goods were received. By comparing these with the previously made agreement, it can be determined whether perfect delivery has taken place or not, and areas of discrepancy can be identied so that improvements can be made.

2.3 Supply chain practices textile and apparel industries Adoption of Supply chain practices in textile and garments industries has steadily increased since the 1980s. A number of definitions are proposed and the concept is discussed from many perspectives. However Cousins et al. (2006); Sachan and Datta (2005); Storey et al. (2006) provided excellent review on supply chain management literature on apparel industry. These papers define the concept, principals, nature, and development of supply chain and indicate that there is an intense research being conducted around the world in this field they critically assessed developments in the theory and practice of supply management. A process is a structured and measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market (Davenport, 1993). It is a group of activities within sequential or parallel relationships that span over a period of time. Integrating nature of these processes across functional and organizational barriers that suit the need of supply chain design and improvement so well that from the very beginning, supply chain study are generally believed to be process-based (Yang, 2000, p.456).

10

Lamber and Cooper (2000) propose a supply chain framework that consists of three closely interrelated elements: the supply chain network structure, the supply chain business processes and supply chain management. The supply chain structure element tells who the members of a particular supply chain are, how many tiers are involved in the chain and how many members are in each tier. A supply chain looks rather more like an uprooted tree than a pipeline, which suggests that supply chains are very complicated to manage. Within such complex network structure, the key to successful supply chain is to identify the key processes, which need the coordination of all the tiers in one supply chain, and mange these processes in an integrated fashion.

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Chapter-3

Company Overview

12

3.1 Background and History of SABA Attires Ltd Saba Attires Ltd started its journey in Bangladesh in the year 17 August, 2002. At early years Saba Attires Ltd had to pass very difficult time. It still exists only for its honesty, integrity, moral scruples and for its business ethics. And for that reason now this organization is in a successful and stable situation in the subsequent years. Saba Attires Ltd never misses to meet future challenges. This organization always tries to give its best to achieve professional competence and reliability. It always tries to give something better than its customers expectation. For this reason its not only treated as a trusted supplier of readymade garments but also as a caring partner toward all its buyers and customers. Now meeting the extraordinary requirement of the customer become a custom for this organization and also a matter of pride for this organization. This organization is also adapting some important policies like getting official approval of ISO Quality Standard practices, ensuring total compliance of various Code of Conduct requirements of prestigious buyers across the world, prioritizing the need for creation of ideal work conditions for the workers and ensuring proper health care & safety for them. This thing has awarded Saba Attires Ltd a respectable position in the top of the RMG manufacturers in Bangladesh.

3.2 Mission To maximize profit while creating an environment in which we can provide the best value and the best services to our customers, while developing ourselves to our maximum potential in a pleasant, clean and professional atmosphere

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3.3 Organization Profile

Name Year of Establishment Activities Location

SABA Attires Ltd 17 August, 2002 Readymade garments manufacturer SABA ATTIRES LTD B-468,469 BSCIC I/A Enayetnagar, Fatullah, Narayangonj. Corporate Office 16, S.M Maleh Road, Tanbazar Narayanganj. Total Flore Area 25000 square feet

Area

Products

Basic T-shirt, Polo shirt, Pajama set, Nightgown, Bermuda shorts, Tank Top, Vest etc. 35000 dozens (per month)

Production Capacity

Main Buyers

Euroski , S.Coop(Spain) , Coop Denmark A/S (Denmark), Cotton On Clothing Pty Ltd(Australia), Cedrox KB (Sweden), Rap SRL (Italy), Roamer ( U.K), Etc.

. Managing Director Mr. ShamimAhmed

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3.4 Quality Policy of Saba Attires Ltd Saba Attires Ltd dedicated to meet and fulfill customer requirement in garments making and also try to satisfy their employees. This group increasingly reducing its rejection and rework rate in-process and final garments in order to ensure product quality and delivery time as per buyer requirement and increase profitability. Saba Attires Ltd will ensure sufficient training and suitable work to increase productivity and skills of the employee. This group always measures its performance in all areas from time to time and takes measure to continually improve quality, work environment and employee satisfaction.

Picture: 3.1 Sample Section

Corporate office controls all the units of Saba Attires Ltd which is located in the Narayanganj. To perform well each unit has its factory management setup from sampling to finishing of the product. Both environment and occupational health and safety were considered during designing the buildings. Medical facilities are available in the production facilities. The two units of Saba Attires Ltd are credited on ISO 9001. These are Saba Attires Ltd garments and Aboni textiles. Saba Attires Ltd garments are also WRAP certified. An Aboni textile limited of Saba Attires Ltd is attributed on environmental management system ISO 14001. Saba Attires Ltd applies ethical principles to all facilities that produce readymade garments for exporting to 15

foreign countries. Its factory operates in a legal and cultural environment. These ethical principals express the basic requirement of Saba Attires Ltd factories in order to do business with its foreign customers. Saba Attires Ltd makes constant efforts to promote best practices and continuous improvement of ethical issues in all its manufacturing units. For easy understanding of the issues the Saba Attires Ltd management has posted its contents on both Bangla and English to their notice board. In addition to all normal machines and equipment, woven division uses the following machines and equipment to provide various special requirements of customers:Arm Hole & Side Seam Fusing Machine Eyelet Sewing Machine Pintack Machine Blind Stitch Machine Saddle Stitching Machine CAD (Investronica) Cintex Needle Search Machine

Picture3.2 Cutting Section

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The woven division has the capacity of producing about 50,000 pcs of shirts / dresses (Mens and Ladies) per month. The knit division in its composite structure has Knitting, Dyeing, Finishing and Sewing facility located near Narayanganj. The division is still in its first phase, running with a capacity of: 4 tons per day for Knitting, 7 tons per day for Dyeing & 10 tons per day for Finishing About 100,000 pcs of 'T' shirts / Tank tops per month About 200,000 pcs of Polo shirts per month Knitting, Dyeing, Finishing units are equipped with European best brand machines like Sclavos for Dyeing, Mayer & CIE for Knitting and Santex for Finishing. Knit division knits dyes and finishes 100% Cotton, CVC, T/C, 100% Polyester, lycra fabrics. Knitting unit knits all the basic structures including the following:Feeder Stripes Lycra Single Jersey Lycra Rib Waffle Herring Bone etc.

Picture 3.3: Swing Section

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Saba Attires Ltd has its own embroidery units. Saba Attires Ltd becomes more competitive by including printing and packaging unit in the year 2007. This establishment causes cost reduction and smooth execution of the orders. Saba Attires Ltd washing was established in September 2008 and has started showing its positive impact on Group's overall business. RMG units of Saba Attires Ltd are no more dependent on out sourcing of washing of Garments.

Picture: 3.4 Finishing Section

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3.5 Organizational Organogram

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Chapter 4

Jobs Performed During Internship

20

4.1 Responsibilities of a merchandiser Merchandiser need to work in a systematic way to ensure proper delivery of products at due date. They had to do their work into daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. The activities are4.1.1 Daily activities of a merchandiser Checking mails and faxes. They need to give the reply within the day based on priority. Checking port status and convey to concern department. Checking the shipments documents and inform concern department. Checking daily production status to understand shipment status Checking shipment schedule and raw materials production status Follow-up with sample section for different buyers sample Follow-up with store for fabric and accessories received Follow-up with the production manager for the production plan Follow-up with the commercial people L/C,BTB L/C and L/C amendment Price quotation and delivery confirmation to the buyer Reporting to marketing and merchandising chief on the daily activities. Reporting to executive director on the important issue like various meeting, customer visits compliances and code of conduct 4.1.2Weekly activities of merchandiser

Meeting with the fabrics and accessories supplier Meeting with the buyer and buying houses Prepare fabric and accessories requirement list, checking with concern and passing it to supplier with proper specification. Prepare purchase order with approval and sign of proper authority. Issuing pro-forma invoice with the approval and sign of the proper authority. Providing cost break-down to commercial department during L/C opening

4.1.3 Monthly activities of a merchandiser Meeting with the production people Meeting with the quality people and pattern master 21

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4.1.4 Yearly activities of a merchandiser Yearly self-assessment on the performance based on number of buyers handled, shipment quantity, CM charge negotiated, debit note settled with the supplier 4.2 My activities As I am working as an assistant merchandiser in Saba Attires Ltd so I am getting the opportunity to learn lots of things. In this time I have done different merchandising related task in the company. 4.2.1 Daily activities Preparing and maintaining fabric swatch card Scanning documents Proper filling the documents Sample follow-up Taking the photos of samples Mail communication Collecting production information Reporting to concern supervisor

Picture 4.1 Merchandising Section 23

4.2.2 Weekly activities Meeting with the fabrics and accessories supplier Making accessories list Meeting with the buyer and buying houses 4.2.3 Monthly activities Meeting with the production people Meeting with the quality people and pattern master 4.3 Problems faced during internship During my working period one of the major problems faced by me was that sometimes sample persons were not flexible to work with interns. Another problem was that as Saba Attires Ltd didnt provide me any formal briefing or any kind of workshop so its become really difficult for me to understand the work.

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Chapter 5

Analysis and Findings

25

5.1 Mathematical Interpretation In analyzing the data collected for this study, Likerts Summative Rating scale used in section for easy construction of table analysis and reliability of data. Mean rating will be used to rate the variables. Likerts Summative Rating method of analysis was used in the analysis these research questions. The assigned weight to the various alternatives is Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree =5 =4 =3 =2 =1

Mean rating was used for the variables .To get the at the mean of each table this formula was used Mean = X

Where f =frequency of respondent x=weight assigned to each alternatives Formula for calculation as used in the study is by multiplication of number of respondents under each option with the weight assigned to the option and summing up to divide by the total number of respondents in order to give the mean rating. The decision rule is that the mean ( X ) of the total response falls 4.5 3.5 2.5 2 1 to to below to below to below to below 5.0, 4.5, 3.5, 2.5, 2.0, it means Supply Chain is it means Supply Chain is it means Supply Chain is it means Supply Chain is it means Supply Chain is Highly Effective Moderately Effective Marginally Effective Ineffective Highly Ineffective

Standard Deviation is also calculated in order to verify the reliability of data. Standard Deviation less than 1 (SD < 1) is considered as reliability of data as difference between responses is low. 26

5.2 Data Analysis Forecasting Table 01: Current forecasting system can predict future demand for apparels accurately.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%) 35 47.5 12.5 5 0

Cumulative (%) 35 82.5 95 100 100

Mean
X

SD

14 19 5 2 0

4.13

0.82

From table 01, it is seen that almost 83% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that current forecasting system can predict future demand for accurately. Analysis of the above table shows that the mean rate 4.13 that fells into range 3.5 to below 4.5 which indicates that in term of demand forecasting system the supply chain of Saba Attires Ltd is moderately effective.

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Forecasting

Table 02: Current forecasting system can accurately predicts price of raw materials.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
0 10 42.5 32.5 15

Cumulative (%)
0 10 52.5 85 100

Mean
X

SD

0 4 17 13 6

2.47

0.87

From table 02, it is found that 10% of the respondents strongly agree and agree that current forecasting system can accurately predicts price of raw materials. The mean rate is 2.47 which fells into range between 1 to below 2.5. So in terms of price forecasting supply chain is ineffective.

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Order Placement

Table 03: The customer order path is simple

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
27.5 45 20 7.5 0

Cumulative (%)
27.5 72.5 92.5 100 100

Mean
X

SD

11 18 8 3 0

3.93

0.88

From above table, it is seen that that over 72% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that the customer order path is simple and effective. Analysis of the above table shows that the mean rate is 3.93, which fells into range 3.5 to below 4.5. It indicates the order placing process is simple which satisfies its customers. Supply chain is moderately effective in terms of order placement.

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Order Placement

Table 04: Current Supply Chain System allows the reduction of response time within the supply chain which makes order placement faster.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%) 45 37.5 17.5 0 0

Cumulative (%) 45 82.5 100 100 100

Mean
X

SD

18 15 7 0 0

4.28

0.75

From the analysis of the above table it is seen that almost 83% of respondents agree or strongly agree that current supply chain system allows the reduction of response time. In this variable the mean rate is 4.28 which indicate that the supply chain of SABA Attires Ltd is moderately effective in terms of order placement.

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Inventory management

Table 05: Inventory Management Department maintains enough inventories that allow uninterrupted production.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%) 35 42.5 17.5 5 0

Cumulative (%) 35 77.5 95 100 100

Mean
X

SD

14 17 7 2 0

4.07

0.85

Table 05 implies that almost 78% of respondents agree or strongly agree that Inventory Management Department maintains enough inventory that allows uninterrupted production.. The mean rate which is 4.07 ensures that in terms Inventory Management supply chain of SABA Attires Ltd is moderately effective.

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Inventory management

Table 06: Inventory management department maintains frequent communication with production department.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
42.5 45 12.5 0 0

Cumulative (%)
42.5 87.5 100 100 100

Mean
X

SD

17 18 5 0 0

4.30

0.68

Table 06 shows that almost 88% of respondents agree or strongly agree Inventory management department maintains frequent communication with production department which makes supply chain effective. The mean rate which is 4.30 indicates that in term of inventory management supply chain is moderately effective.

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Production

Table 07: Order Lead Time of SABA Attires Ltd is good enough compare with the industrys Order Lead Time.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
32.5 45 15 7.5 0

Cumulative (%)
32.5 77.5 92.5 100 100

Mean
X

SD

13 18 6 3 0

4.02

0.89

From the analysis of the above table it is seen almost 78% of respondents agree or strongly agree that the companys Order Lead Time is good enough compare with the industrys Order Lead Time.. In this variable the mean rate is 4.02 which indicate that in term of order lead time the supply chain is moderately effective.

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Production

Table 08: Company has production facility which ensures sufficient production during the time of excessive demand.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
52.5 42.5 5 0 0

Cumulative (%)
52.5 95 100 100 100

Mean
X

SD

22 16 2 0 0

4.50

0.59

From table, it is seen that that 95% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that Company has production facility that ensures sufficient production during the time of excessive demand. Analysis of the above table shows that the mean rate is 4.50, which fells into range 4.5 to below 5.0. It indicates that the supply chain is highly effective in terms of production facility.

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Production

Table 09: Production Management Department maintains frequent communication with Marketing and Distribution Department.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)

Cumulative (%)

Mean (
X

Standard Deviation (SD)

12 19 7 2 0

30 47.5 17.5 5 0

30 77.5 95 100 100

4.02

0.83

From table 09, it is seen that almost 78% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that Production Management Department maintains frequent communication with Marketing and Distribution Department which impacts positively on supply chain. Analysis of the above table shows that the mean rate is 4.02 which fells into range 3.5 to below 4.5. It indicates that supply chain is moderately effective in terms of production management.

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Communication

Table 10: Current supply chain management makes communication among supply chain members frequently.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
0 35 47.5 17.5 0

Cumulative (%)
0 35 82.5 100 100

Mean
X

SD

0 14 19 7 0

3.18

0.71

Table 10 shows that almost 35% of respondents agree and strongly agree that current supply chain allows to makes communication among supply chain members faster, easier and more frequently. The mean rate which is 3.18 indicates that supply chain is marginally effective in this particular measure.

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Communication

Table 11: Current supply chain helps in obtaining useful feedback from the suppliers.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
0 10 20 48 22

Cumulative (%)
0 10 30 78 100

Mean
X

SD

0 4 8 19 9

2.18

0.89

From table 11, it is found that 10% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that Current supply chain helps in obtaining useful feedback from the suppliers. The mean rate is 2.18 fells into ineffective indicator range which is 1 to below 2.5. So in terms of obtaining feedback from suppliers supply chain is ineffective.

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Managing distribution

Table 12: Shipments are delivered as per the dateline.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
67.5 27.5 5 0 0

Cumulative (%)
67.5 95 100 100 100

Mean
X

SD

27 11 2 0 0

4.63

0.58

From table 12, it is found that 95% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that shipments are delivered as per the dateline. The mean rate is 4.63 fells into highly effective indicator range which is 4.5 to below 5. So in terms of delivery the supply chain is highly effective.

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Managing distribution

Table 13: Distribution system is flexible enough to meet particular customer demands.

Number of Respondants (N)

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Valid (%)
10 32.5 40 17.5 0

Cumulative (%)
10 42.5 82.5 100 100

Mean
X

SD

8 17 11 4 0

3.73

0.89

From table 13, it is found that almost 43% of the respondents strongly agree & agree that distribution system is flexible enough to meet particular customer demands. The mean rate is 3.82 fells into effective indicator range which is 3.5 to below 4.5. So in terms of flexibility in the supply chain is moderately effective.

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5.3 Findings: 1. In term of demand forecasting system the supply chain of Saba Attires Ltd is moderately effective. 2. In term of price forecasting system for raw material, the supply chain of Saba Attires Ltd is ineffective. 3. Order placement system of Saba Attires Ltd is moderately effective 4. Supply chain is moderately effective in case inventory management. 5. In term of order lead time the supply chain of Saba Attires Ltd is moderately effective. 6. Supply chain is highly effective in term of production facility. 7. Supply chain is moderately effective in terms of production management. 8. In term of communication with supply chain partners supply chain is marginally effective. 9. Supply chain of Saba Attires Ltd is ineffective in term of communication with suppliers. 10. Supply chain is highly effective in term of shipment delivery (Distribution Management). 11. In term of distribution flexibility supply chain is moderately effective.

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Chapter-6

Recommendations and Conclusion

41

6.1 Recommendations Saba Attires Ltd should improve their supply chain practice in those areas in which are current ineffective or marginally effective. Price forecasting system of Saba Attires Ltd is ineffective. If future price of raw materials are not accurately predicted, the production cost will be increased as consequence. So, price forecasting system raw material should be improved. Communication with supply chain partners, especially with suppliers should be improved as the study finds that this function is currently in marginally ineffective level. Although currently distribution schedule is not hampering with this lack of communication but it can seriously impacts on production and increase production cost. Communication with suppliers should be more frequent and feedback should take in order to get production materials timely and in right price. Supply chain areas which are currently moderately effective level (demand forecasting, order placement, inventory management and production management, distribution flexibility) should bring in to highly effective level.

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6.2 Conclusion

Supply chains are effective when the exchange value of the system fulfills expectations of the supply chain members. Todays business environment is more global and competitive than it has been in the past. The modern business is characterized with shorter product life cycles, rapid new product introductions, increasingly knowledgeable, well informed, and sophisticated customers. This forces supply chains to be more effective. The modern supply chains are thus expected to respond rapidly, effectively, and efficiently to changes in the market place so as to sustain, and further more create competitive advantage. It is therefore very important to study the effectiveness of supply chains.

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7.0 References Chopra, S.; & Meindl, P. (2003). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operations, pp. 060-081 Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Christopher, M., 1992. Logistics and Supply Chain Manage-ment. Pitman Publishing, London pp 241 - 244 Cousins, P.D., Lawson, B., Squire, B., 2006. Supply chain management: theory and practice the emergence of an academic discipline. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 26 (7), pp.697 702. Davenport, T. H. (1993), Process innovation-Reengineering work through information technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Finch, BJ 2006, Operations Now: Profitability, Processes, Performance, 2nd edn, McGrawHill/ Irwin, United States. pp 147-151 Hkansson, Hkan and Frans Prenkert (2004), "Exploring the Exchange Concept in Marketing," in Rethinking Marketing - developing a new understanding of markets, Hkan Hkansson and Alexandra Walnuszewski, Eds. 2004: Wiley. Hines, P., Richard Lamming, D. Jones, P. Cousins, and N. Rich (2000), "Strategic Performance Measurement systems," in Value stream management - Strategy and excellence in the supply chain. Harlow: Financial Times/Prentice Hall, pp. 77-81

Lee, H. L. and Billington, C., 1995. The Evolution of Supply Chain -Management Models and Practice at Hewlett-Packard. Interfaces 25, 5 September-October, pp. 42-63. Little, D., Kenworthy, J., Jarvis, P., Porter, K., 1995. Scheduling across the supply chain. Logistics Information Management 8 (1), 4248 Mapes, J., New, C., Szwejczewski, M., 1997. Perfor-mance trade-offs in manufacturing plants. International Journalof Operations & Production Management 17 (10),10201033. Novich, N., 1990. Distribution strategy: Are you thinking small enough? Sloan Management Review 32 (1), 7177. Pfeffer, Jeffrey and Gerald R. Salancik (2003), The external control of organizations: a resource dependence perspective. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Business Books. pp. 11-12 Sachan, A., Datta, S., 2005.Review of supply chain management and logistics research International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 35 (9), pp. 664 705. 44

Stewart, G., 1995. Supply chain performance benchmarking study reveals keys to supply chain excellence. Logistics Information Management 8 (2), 3844. Strader, T. J., Lin, F. and Shaw, M. J. (1998), "Information infrastructure for electronic virtual organization management", Decision Support Systems, Vol.23, pp. 75-94. Yang, B. R. (2000), "Supply chain management" in Shaw, M., Blanning, R., Strader, T. and Whinston, A. (Eds.), Handbook on electronic commerce (pp. 446-456), Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.

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8.0 Appendix Questionnaire

Supply chain Effectiveness of Apparel Manufacturing Company in Bangladesh. A Study on Saba Attires Ltd.

Respondent Name: Age: Occupation: Designation: Work place: Respondents Signature:

On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate the following (circle the response that best applies) Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5

Forecasting related questions: Serial Statements 01. Current forecasting system can predict future 02. demand for apparels accurately. Current forecasting system can accurately predicts price of raw materials. 1 2 3 4 5

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Order Placement related questions: Serial Statements 03. The customer order path is simple. 04. Current supply chain management allows the reduction of response time within the supply chain which makes order placement faster. 1 2 3 4 5

Inventory Management related questions Seria l 05. Statements Inventory management department maintains enough inventories that allow uninterrupted 06. production. Inventory management department maintains frequent communication with production department. 1 2 3 4 5

Production related questions: Seria l 07. Statements Order Lead Time of SABA Attires Ltd is good enough compare with the industrys Order Lead 08. Time. Company has production facility which ensures sufficient production during the time of excessive 09 demand. Production Management Department maintains frequent communication with Marketing and Distribution Department. Communication related questions: Seria l 47 Statements 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

10.

Current supply chain management makes communication among supply chain members frequently. Current supply chain helps in obtaining useful feedback from the suppliers.

11.

Distribution Management related questions: Serial Statements 12. Shipments are delivered as per the dateline. 13. Distribution system is flexible enough to meet particular customer demands. 1 2 3 4 5

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